TallManCycles’ Cycle Touring Brisbane Destinations

TallManCycles’ Cycle Touring Brisbane Destinations

Cycle touring has been a passion of mine over the past 2 years. I would always be looking for the next best place to discover or to find an excuse to go camping so i could trial out my newly purchased gear.

I had trouble finding a place to start. There was not that much information regarding tour cycling in Brisbane, especially if you wanted to cycle safely. From the various youtube videos and websites I’ve found over the years, and with a little help from some other cyclists in the community, I’ve put together a list of camping spots that I really enjoy and hopefully you will as well.

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Follow a couple of guys on an adventure to crack the trip of a lifetime.

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail – Difficulty [Medium]

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail is a great track with plenty of great heritage to discover. Quite simply, its an old railway line which used to cover much of the North West District. Because this used to be railway tracks, the terrain is mostly dirt with sections of gravel and grass.

The first trip I covered plenty of kilometers because I was by myself and had previously been training for the Single Day Event Peaks Challenge in VIC (235kms with 4500m+ elevation). You probably will not want to cover 90kms in 1 day, but its most certainly possible if you feel up for the challenge.

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Website is a good resource for section specific maps. However camping can be a little unclear. I parked my car at Fernvale in the Town (There are security cameras in the car park) and rode through to Moore. (I camped in the Free camping spot HERE). Camping is right beside the Highway which can be riddled with trucks late at night, so I would recommend pushing through to Linville.

You can also camp in the Showgrounds at a few of the towns. I’ve stayed at Lowood showgrounds for $5 each. (Hot showers make the money worth it). There are food shops at most stops, except i couldn’t see any food at Coominyah, so make sure you’re stocked up in order to continue through to Esk.

I recommend good tires for this terrain. I used 35 mm commuting tires on my first trip using a Scott Sportster 40, whilst on the second trip I used my Giant XTC Advanced with MTB tires. Both trips no punctured tires!

North Stradbroke Island – Difficulty [Easy]

I planned this ride in the last month of winter in Australia (August) and it turned out to be a really good time to travel. It was still hot during the day, and cool enough at night to trial out a slight sleeping bag.

We rode from Brisbane to the Cleveland Water Taxi mainly via Manly Road. I suggest against this because it was relatively heavy with traffic, especially at 8am on a Saturday Morning. If you have the time an patients, i would recommend going over the Gateway Bridge and following the waters edge out to Cleveland as much as possible.

Elapsed Time

Moving Time

Distance

Average Speed

Max Speed

Elevation Gain

01:57:49

01:37:52

34.36

21.06

46.44

247.00

hours

hours

km

km/h

km/h

meters

We used this water taxi company and cost us $10 each way. Its much quicker than the car ferry and usually a similar price. It lands at Dunwich on Stradbroke Island. We used the East Cost Road to get to Adder Rock Camp Ground which is walking distance to shops and a pub, so you don’t need to take extra food with you. Adder Rock Camping cost around $17 Each for Off-Peak Camping. We only had to use 1 Site and just paid the extra for the additional people. Costs can be found HERE.

If you enjoy camping in the bush and being self sufficient, then the D’aguilar National Park is for you. Light line road bush camp is a favourite because its easy to access on a bike without MTB tires. You can purchase your camping pass HERE .

There is water at the top, but I would not rely on being able to drink it without boiling or treating it first. There is also a shelter at most camps that will shelter you from unexpected rain. The shelters have a table and chairs, with a little log book for everyone who journeys though.

Camping in winter can be very cold here, so i would recommend a 0 degrees sleeping bag just in case. You also need to take out what you bring in, as there are only minimal facilities in the camping spot. There are also no toilets, so toilet paper is a must.

I enjoy this campsite the most, probably due to the self sufficient aspect to it all. You get a chance to test out all your cooking and camping gear up here, whilst also being far away from technology and power. It simply pushes the reset button on life and leaves you refreshed.

Death By D’aguilar – Difficulty [EXPERT]

I asked on a local Facebook Group about rides close to Brisbane that anyone would recommend. Thanks to Neil Ennis I thought this must be shared because its so bad ass and hard to keep locked away.

Its 138kms in total and has over 4000m of elevation. Most of the track is dirt, so this is classed as expert level! I would assume this track would take 2-3 days to complete for an advanced rider skilled in the act of Bike Packing.

Below is the GPX and embedded ride route for quite possibly the hardest bike packing adventure in Brisbane. Please comment below if you plan on doing this ride because I would love to attempt this one day!